A940 offline after installing Vista 32-bit drivers

I'll be doing that this weekend...I am in graduate school, and I've spent a small fortune on copying and printing at the local library...I'm sure with what I've spent, I cold have almost paid for a new printer.

 

It is most frustrating!  I wish Dell could have just said "Buy a new printer" when I bought the new computer in February!

 

Walmart has some great buys on HP's :)

 

 

 

 

You are not alone, I am having the exact same problem with my Dell A920 printer.  If someone doesn't figure this out soon I will have to buy a different printer, like an HP.

Jean,

 

  I've given up trying to solve this issue...I've spent entirely too much time on it, and I'm tired of getting emails from tech support that tell me to do the same thing over and over....

 

  I'm buying a new printer this weekend...it WON'T be a Dell. 

 

           Good luck!

 

                     Donna

Hi Donna,

I, too, am having the same exact issue where the printer shows ready and then goes to an offline state. I have been watching this post in anticipation that Dell just might provide some relevant information, but am becoming rather discouraged, especially after all the time that has passed since we have all been waiting for the drivers to arrive. It is rather frustrating that now that we have them, they do not work properly. My first thought was, "Did anyone do any testing on these?"

 

I have seen more posts from Dell faithful who are jumping ship when it comes to their printers (some even their PCs). Given that Dell does have printers that are completely Vista compatible, it is a shame that Dell would put those of us who should be "preferred" for being Dell customers to push us to the point of having to buy new one's.

 

I have been a Dell die-hard for years now, in fact, everything in my room here is Dell from the keyboard to the PC to my Axim. I have expressed my satisfaction with Dell to my friends and family, however, this nonsense is beginning to take it's toll. I suppose there aren't any Dell execs who have any of the 900"A" series printers or I'm sure this would have certainly been resolved by now.

 

I'll hang in there a little longer but if nothing is fixed soon, I'll be happy to express my dissatisfaction with the service and resolution of this problem by purchasing a non-Dell pinter.

 

I, too, have been a Dell faithful, but the past two months have changed that....I can't honestly say I'm happy with my system and not being able to print does not help.

 

Just for grins and giggles this morning, I ran the Windows Upgrade Advisor.  I have Vista Home Premium which came preinstalled on a brand new Dimension E520.  The Advisor was unable to determine any information about the USB ports (and that made me wonder why Tech Support has suggested repeatedly that if you are using the front ports, try the back and vice versa...it's a brand new machine....one should be able to assume all ports are functioning!)...the Advisor suggested a visit to Windows Marketplace, so while there I checked out what Microsoft recommended for printers in the $0 to $200 range...not surprisingly, there was not one Dell printer on the list...many HP's, some Canons and Lexmarks as well.

 

I am going Saturday to purchase a new printer....and am giving my Dell to my neighbor who is running XP, so that somebody can use up the $123 of ink cartridges I purchased just prior to purchasing my new Dimension....I refuse to return the 4 unopened cartridges to Dell and pay a restocking fee. 

 

Take care, and good luck!

 

 

 

I have the exact same problem with my A920 printer.  How can Dell release this driver without testing it!

I hate to be the one to be contradictory, but I also have the Dimension E520 along with the AIO 940. I have Vista 32-bit. I have to say that after I installed the driver for the printer, so far(fingers crossed), I haven't had any problems other than not being able to fax, which I would like to be able to do. I'm sorry you are all having so many problems with your systems. I wish you all the best.

I'd sure like to know what the difference is.  My system is brand new.  The only software I have installed on it since purchasing it is Microsoft Office 2003 and the original printer software I got with my A940, so I'm not sure what could be causing the problem.

 

I tried and tried to get a resolution from tech support, but nothing they suggested has  helped at all.

 

Were you able to just download the drivers and go?  Had you tried installing your printer from the original cd that you received when you purchased it?  (I had, not realizing that the drivers would be incompatible....don't know if that has left files on the hard drive that are causing a conflict, but if so, I would guess that tech support would be able to identify that as an issue?)

 

Anyway, it's good to know somebody is able to print!  My neighbor did not take the printer, so maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to get mine working and keep it as a backup.

 

 

Hello everyone,

 

I went to the Dell drivers and downloads for the latest drivers so the AIO A940 would work with Vista. I installed all the drivers (4) that were listed. I am now able to print and fax. I hope everyone else can get the same results. Good luck.

My system is also new. I did try installing by using the original CD only to find out it wasn't compatible with Vista. I had some problem with my system and had to get the discs to totally restore the computer back to factory settings. I had to do this because somehow the backup that is supposed to be in the system got deleted. I then just waited until the new driver was released. I had another computer with Windows XP on it that my daughter was using. I had installed to printer out there until a driver was ready. I am now trying to fix it so I can fax with the printer. I guess one step at a time. LOL I hope you'll be able to get your printer to work soon. I know how hard it is to be without one.  Iyt's very frustrating. Good luck.

I'm having the same issue, printer going offline after installing new driver.  I'm ready to return my computer and not buy Dell.  It took 3 hours on the phone with tech support for them to tell me the driver posted on the website is bad.  No appologies, they just tried to SELL me extended service for when the real drivers are available. 

Hey, Jean,

 

   I just tried the new version...still not having any luck at all!!!!

 

   Perhaps I'm doing things in the wrong order, but tech support has not provided me an order of steps to follow from start to finish......and I'm not sure if the problem is that I used a Belkin transfer cable when I set up my E520?  Perhaps I've transfered something from my old XP computer that should not have been transferred?  Did you happen to transfer your documents and settings too?

 

           Donna

I tried your suggestion and it did not work...same problem.

 

My computer is new and came installed with Windows Vista.  I've tried both drivers posted on the Dell website and it still says "offline" and wont print. 

 

So many people are having the same problem, cant you admit it is a problem with the driver and not something we are doing wrong.  Please re-issue a new, working driver ASAP.